These Spicy Chocolate Cayenne Truffle Brownies are thick, rich and fudgy with a little kick from cayenne pepper. So delicious!

Yeah I totally know what you’re thinking.

Chocolate. Cayenne. Now way! What in the world could it possibly taste like? Could those flavors even work? Well I’m here to tell you that yes it sure does and I LOVE them!

The inspiration for these spicy brownies came from a bar of chocolate. When shopping the isles of Target for items to send in a care package to send my sissy in North Carolina, I swiped a bar of chili-infused chocolate. When I got home I was totally wishing I bought myself a bar and contemplated if I should “forget” to send hers and keep it all to my greedy-little-chocolate-hoarding self. In the end, I did what’s right… and shipped it.

Moral of the story. Always ALWAYS buy two, maybe three.

To describe these brownies is pretty dang simple. The brownie itself is fudgy {because I always under bake mine, and yes it’s on purpose} and as your salivary glands are enjoying the chocolaty goodness, it’s when you swallow… that you feel a little bit of warmth in the back of your throat. It’s kind of remarkable. It’s one of those things that you won’t believe it could possibly taste good until you try it, kinda how I feel about avocado frosting… sounds kinda gross but I bet it’s delicious!

Start with 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and a stick of unsalted butter. Everything heavenly either starts or ends with “a stick of butter”.

Break up the chocolate into a sauce pan.

Cut up the butter.

And add it to the sauce pan with the chocolate.

Heat on low, sloooooooooooooooooowly, stirring occasionally.

While the chocolate and butter are doing their thang; I threw the flour, cocoa, kosher salt, baking powder, and chili powder into mesh sifter.

I sifted the dry ingredients into a large bowl and tried not get it all over the place and succeeded! Then just set aside.

Now the chocolate is all melted and shiny, so I pulled it off the heat.

Then add in the white sugar and dark brown sugar.

Then mix until all that glorious sugar is incorporated.

Next add in one egg at a time, whisk and repeat until all four eggs are in.

*I wait until the chocolate has cooled a bit and my eggs up to around room temp so they don’t curdle and cook.

Wait. Maybe I’d stop here, grab a spoon and go hide somewhere.

Then add in the flour/cocoa mixture in spoonfuls at a time and mixed after every addition.

Next, once the flour mixture was all mixed in pour the batter into the pan.

Then I spread the batter out with my finger a spatula and baked it in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes. If you are using a 9×13 you may need to just bake it for 25-30 minutes. But as I always say {like a broken record} every ones oven is different. Check your brownies with a tooth pick or skewer, it’s done when the skewer comes out clean. But if you’re like me… and I like mine fudgy, so I’m okay with a little chocolate attached to the tester.

Next, remove from pan once cooled and safe to handle.

Then sprinkle with reserved cocoa powder.

Finally, cut into 12 squares. Keep in mind that if you’re making a spicier brownie, you may want to consider keeping them a little on the small side.

Note the fudgy inside. to.die.for.

Lucky for my thighs, I took these spicy chocolate cayenne truffle brownies to a family get together… otherwise I’d weigh 1,346 pounds, because I would’ve eaten them ALL!

Enjoy! And if you give these Spicy Chocolate Cayenne Truffle Brownies a try, let me know by snapping a photo and tagging me on twitter or instagram!

My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance!

Yield: 12

Spicy Chocolate Cayenne Truffle Brownies

These Spicy Chocolate Cayenne Truffle Brownies are thick, rich and fudgy with a little kick from cayenne pepper. So delicious!

Prep Time25 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces

1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into pieces (plus more for greasing the pan)

4 large eggs, at room temp

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting

3/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Prep your pan with butter and line with parchment.

In a sauce pan, place the broken chocolate and butter. Melt over low heat, stirring often. Once melted, remove off of the heat and add both sugars, stir and set aside.

Next sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and cayenne into a large bowl and set aside. To the slightly warm chocolate add in one egg at a time whisking after each additional egg. Then add spoonfuls of the flour/cocoa mixture and stir with a spatula until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared 8x8 pan and bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. For more fudgy brownies, the tester should come out slightly coated with a thicker coat of chocolate batter, it shouldn't be runny.

Let cool and remove. Sprinkle with reserved cocoa powder and cut into desired size. If making a spicier brownie, you may want to consider keeping them a little on the small side.

Serve with vanilla bean ice cream if desired.

Notes

*If using a 9x13 pan, bake for 20-25 minutes and test for desired doneness.

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I think I gained about 15 lbs just drooling over the photos! I LOVE spicy chocolate, so so So good! Unexpected bursts of heat really make the chocolate taste more chocolatey. I want these brownies now. I think I'll have to go make them soon! e

Hi there !i am just starting out a food blog, it really isnt much yet but i included a link to this page. check it out if you have a chance, http://indahbrotolaras.tumblr.com/ your brownies are amazing!j

I made these last night for Bachelor night with my girlfriends and after making your cabernet brownies many times, I decided it was time for a change. They turned out perfectly! Some of the girls didn’t like them but if I wouldn’t have told them they had cayenne they probably wouldn’t have even noticed 🙂 They seemed to be a big hit with the husbands. Thanks for another great recipe!

Hey, my girlfriend happened share this recipe and I made it today. It’s still warm from the oven. I’m a newbie baker and this is my first brownie. And it turned out perrrfect! I’m so happy with myself.
Thank you for the perfect recipe.